NCAA BK

Texas A&M-CC beats Abilene Christian 56-44

ABILENE, Texas (AP) Rashawn Thomas scored 18 points with 11 rebounds and four steals, Kareem South had 14 points, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi used a big second-half run to beat Abilene Christian 56-44 on Wednesday night to win its eighth straight.

Joseph Kilgore scored 13 for the Islanders (17-9, 10-5 Southland), who entered the game third in the conference standings. Ehab Amin had two steals for his 88th of the season, tying former teammate Hameed Ali’s single-season record.

Jaren Lewis’ layup capped a 12-4 run and the Wildcats rallied from a 32-23 halftime deficit to get within 36-35 early in the second half. Jake Kocher made two layups amid a 15-4 run capped by Amin’s layup off a steal and the Islanders were up by 12, 51-39, with 3:42 left. The Wildcats closed to within seven with 1:40 to go, but got no closer.